Confirmed Bachelor
by Nigelcat1
Summary: After defeating Voldemort Harry flees for his life, health, safety and personal happiness despite the plans Dumbledore still had for him. Luckily he manages to remain free and fight back at those who would see him conform to Dumbledore's last orders.


CONFIRMED BACHELOR

J K Rowling owns all the rights to the books and the amazing characters she created. I write only to satisfy my imagination and use my creativity and make no money from my writings.

Hermione Granger had tried everything she knew to "talk sense" into Harry Potter. She tried yelling at him, chastising him unmercifully, and guilting him into doing what he was "supposed to do" and she played the "never failing" _Dumbledore-would-be-so-disappointed-in-you_ card and not even that had worked. She even tried logic knowing beforehand that Harry wouldn't be able to comprehend such a thing but she tried it anyway. She spoke extra slow and accentuated every word like one does for a young child but yet again had failed.

In frustration she tried to spell him. Yes she had always considered such things as unethical and only Professor Dumbledore had the wisdom to make the decision to have someone spelled for the Greater Good, but this was an emergency. However Harry had some magical protection of his own and the spell bounced off of him. He rudely retaliated by stunning her and having one of his house elves (another things she disapproved of) kick her out of his home.

She had then sent him carefully worded letters (and definitely not the howlers Molly Weasley had been bombarding him with) and when they had been ignored, she sent them again this time subtly spelled and with invisible runes in place to make him not only read them but to obey her orders immediately. He again unfairly retaliated by having her arrested.

In true desperation she had spelled Andromeda Tonks to help out and laid in wait for Harry to visit his godson Teddy. Hermione had been made the child's godmother just before Nymphadora Tonks left to fight in the final battle because there was a very good chance she and Remus would die (they did) as well as Harry. She had named a few others as backup godparents hoping that someone would survive to raise her son. That was how Hermione had gained entrance to the Tonks home and she had one last tactic to spring on Harry because he would never allow her near him again if she failed.

Damn if the brat hadn't been heavily runed and warded to prevent a surprise attack and it was then that Hermione tried the true never fail weapon used by females throughout the millennia – she cried. She knew Harry was a sucker for tears – except he really wasn't as he knew they were a common weapon in the female arsenal used to get their way when all else failed. He did at least listen to her (after he got her wand and she had been magically bound in chains) but all she did was to say the same old thing over and over again but in a nicer tone and using the tears.

"How many times do I have to tell you it ain't a gonna happen?" Harry asked in frustration when he finally had been forced to silence her. Hermione could out talk…well anybody and anything and as usual she was singing the same old song using a few new ways.

"She is never going to give up" the now un-spelled Andromeda told him. "The girl was made to swear on her magic that she would accomplish this one last mission for the old %*##^#&#$^&#."

"Why because it was for the mysterious Greater Good?"

"Probably as you better than anyone know how Albus Dumbledore worked."

"Yes – unethically, illegally, sneakily, uncaring, manipulative and several other words which are not repeatable in polite company or even in front of the late Mad Eye Moody" came the reply. "The fact still remains ' .HAPPEN and considering I swore an oath on my magic and life to that effect, in public, wrote it down in several official documents with a blood quill and have the backing of the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) even the very stubborn Hermione Granger should know better and give up."

"But then she would lose her magic."

"That's her tough luck. Right now she's lucky she isn't rotting in Azkaban. After today's stunt, I will have that restraining order not only slapped on her but her parents and, just to be thorough, will be calling in the _three life debts she really owes me_ " Harry replied.

"She didn't know about the last two because Dumbledore had obliviated…well both of you so how did you find out?" Andromeda asked.

"That's my secret" Harry said smiling. "As an attorney you know all of the ins and outs of the legal system even the old %#*^%#&^&#&$#& manipulated the hell out of it. Since he had been using all of those proxy votes he had acquired over the years by fair means and foul – mostly foul – to pass all of that dreadful legislation, the ICW has sent over a special investigation team who will be going over all laws passed in the last 60 years and although it will take a long time, much of the old %*##^#&#%*#' so-called 'good work' will go up in ashes where it truly belongs."

 _ **"But she will lose her magic!"**_

Harry was getting annoyed with Andromeda. He checked her over for spells and potions to see if some were still lingering in her system but unfortunately for her, there were none. He wondered if she had been forced to swear any oaths and wouldn't be surprised if she had but at the moment he lacked the skill to detect them.

"You know that you could always retract your oath" Andromeda said in a pleading voice. "There are legal ways around it since you took it on your own volition and if you were in error or…."

"That is another thing which will never happen," he snapped out angrily. "You know damn well why."

"But her magic is at risk" came the plea.

" _ **THAT'S HER PROBLEM**_ " was the terse reply. "Since you are a lawyer you also know a way around it now don't you. If she stays away from me and never talks to me again than she won't be able to nag me or lose her magic because if I'm not around and she can't contact me, she upholds her end of the bargain of _'trying her best to convince me'_ because it is I who am avoiding her. But you know that and I would be very surprised if Hermione does also – at least now that I have said it in front of her."

He then glared into Andromeda's eyes and asked "She does know this little tidbit or is it just another little thing which was hidden from her by Dumbles and the Weasleys?"

Andromeda's silence answered his questions as did the look of horror in Hermione's eyes.

"You didn't! Pray tell me why you or nobody else informed Hermione of this magic-saving escape."

Andromeda looked down at her feet as she just couldn't look Harry in the eye while she gave him the answer. "They said they'd take Teddy away from me if I didn't help them get what they want."

"And you believed them why?"

"Harry you don't know much about the laws and customs and I know it was intentional. Remus and Nymie did make you Teddy's godfather but…there was no time to conduct the official ceremony. Sirius swore the oath of Blood and Family when he officially became your godfather. It is a sacred ceremony and binding rite wherein you promise to care for the child, swear the special oaths and sign several documents. You didn't do it because there wasn't any time."

"You were also in great danger and there was the chance that you would die. Nymie and Remus did and about a week or so before the final battle, Nymie made a list of alternates hoping that someone would still be alive to care for Teddy if she, Remus, you and I died. Unfortunately she filed it of record with a person she trusted. The day after the battle after you disappeared I went to Hogwarts to…claim the bodies…and I took Teddy with me. One of the people on the list showed up and offered to watch Teddy for me while I saw to the arrangements."

"And that person was?"

"Fleur Weasley. She was the only Weasley not in the throes of hysterical mourning or out looking for you to ' _bring you back to the arms and safety of your loved ones_.' She told me later that she was playing with Teddy when Molly stormed over, grabbed Teddy and someone stunned Fleur. The next thing she knew I was reviving her."

"Long story short, Molly, Arthur, Bill and Ron Weasley as well as Hermione had all taken the oath, signed the paperwork and now have a better claim to Teddy then you or me."

"But you're his grandmother and a blood relative."

"That doesn't mean a thing when you have the Minister of Magic approving everything certain unscrupulous people are doing. He was convinced that you would never abandon Teddy and would do anything to help Teddy and see that he wasn't taken from me."

"So if I ever wanted to see my godson or you your grandson ever again and have custody of him…we have to dance to the Order and the Weasleys' tune? Is that also why Hermione 'convinced you' to help corner me for this last assault?"

"Yes."

Harry thought for a moment while Andromeda (whose wand he also had) looked at him with pleading eyes. Finally he spoke. "So if you don't help them 'get me' you lose custody of Teddy and never see him again, is that the situation?"

"Yes."

"Did they make you swear an oath to that effect that you'd would do ANYTHING it took to get me back in their power?"

"Yes" came the reply with tears now pouring out of the woman's eyes.

"Well if that is the case and what it will take…" he said still looking directly into her eyes "THEN LIKE HERMIONE YOU ARE SCREWED." With that said he portkeyed out of the Tonks home much to the shock and horror of both witches because Harry Potter couldn't be that cruel as it wasn't in his nature – it just wasn't.

Actually it was. The "real nature" of Harry James Potter had been carefully constructed by Albus Dumbledore. He accomplished this feat by using unethical, illegal and dark magic to accomplish this because it was for the Greater Good of his plans and just had to be done. But Dumbledore had been dead for over a year and all of that dark, evil magic was gone because Harry had "died" and there was nothing like death to cause such things to cease.

After he had killed Voldemort Harry had immediately fled the scene using a portkey that Hermione and Ron didn't know he had. He went to Myrtle's bathroom, opened the Chamber, and once behind the safety of the door, recast the password in parsel. He then had summoned his personal house elves and told them to put Plan A into action. He then shrunk the basilisk and put it in a specially charmed box. He found his stash of secret clothes and glasses, changed and then left the Chamber when his secret elf Snoopy returned to tell him "mission accomplished" and they then left so that Harry could make his break for freedom.

He had disillusioned himself and Snoopy had taken him to Dumbledore's tomb. Harry opened the tomb but not to place the Elder Wand with its "true owner" and to keep it away from those who would covet it. Not even the "real Harry" was that dumb. "Someone" would be after that magical artifact the moment Harry was "stupid enough" to put it in the tomb and leave. He was as positive of that as he was that Ron Weasley would return to the Chamber as soon as possible so that someone – probably Bill – could help him steal the basilisk and sell it for the fortune it was worth.

He opened the tomb and Snoopy handed him the "Resurrection Stone" or the Slytherin Family Ring. It wasn't the real thing but a fake which Voldemort had used to trap anyone foolish enough to look for it and destroy it. He had hid the real ring someplace really safe. He had set the trap long ago knowing that a truly talented wizard could break the wards around the ring because he had not cast the wards in parsel tongue which would have thwarted everyone. Dumbledore had fallen into the trap and had met his doom. However he still thought he had the real ring and that was why he had done to it what he had.

Harry took one last look at the body of Albus Dumbledore and after muttering some really nasty but totally heartfelt curses at the old %*#%^&*^&^#$&# he tossed the fake ring in the tomb as well as the Elder Wand and…the Invisibility Cloak. He didn't want to do it but had had no choice. Snoopy had been keeping the cloak safe and the one Harry and the others were using was just a regular invisibility cloak spelled to resemble his cloak.

Sighing Harry took out a spelled glass globe containing several ounces of basilisk venom. He tossed it onto the body and it broke. He waited until it started dissolving and then he quickly cast the fiendfyre charm and slammed the tomb's door shut. He and Snoopy backed away to safety as the tomb was engulfed and the contents of all within would be totally destroyed, then not looking back they portkeyed away from Hogwarts.

Why had Harry done this you might ask? I'll tell you. Before he started the hunt for Voldemort's Horcruxes he had found out from a very reliable source that, the Elder Wand, the ring and his family's cloak had been made into Dumbledore's Horcruxes. Yes Dumbledore had made his own Horcruxes starting in the late 1950's using "his wand" as the first one.

Three days before James Potter's death Dumbledore had made a visit to Godric's Hallow to borrow the cloak to study it and to cast the final necessary spells to ensure Voldemort's utter defeat. Naturally James didn't know that part but Dumbledore had determined that James and Lily must die for the Greater Good. There was a good chance that little Harry would die but just in case he didn't Dumbledore had made other arrangements which he had put into immediate operation when the boy survived.

That was probably one of the reasons why Dumbledore looked at death as the next great adventure and did not fear it – because he knew he was coming back. He had put in his Will that whenever he died his body was to be repaired of any injuries suffered and then given a stasis embalming which meant the body would still have its blood and internal organs but remain frozen for at least 50 years. As usual no one had questioned Dumbledore's Will and it had been done. But now it was over and hopefully he was now in Hell where he truly belonged.

Voldemort's Horcrux could only be removed if Voldemort "killed Harry" as once in an object or entity it and the vessel had to be destroyed. It couldn't be banished or removed from Harry's head as it was too deeply entwined in Harry's magical core and life essence. Now for the first time in his life (and even before it) Harry was finally free and determined to stay that way.

Harry spent the next month out of Britain taking care of the many things he had been unable to do not only while Dumbledore lived but the past year when he was on the enforced Horcrux hunt. Much of the magic spelled onto Harry had been removed on the sly during the past year except for the very special ones which were the more darker ones Dumbledore had on Harry which only his death could cure.

Unknown to Dumbledore and definitely not Hermione (who would not have approved) Harry had acquired three house elves during the past five years. He had done a lot unknown to the "all knowing" Albus Dumbledore and Hermione would have been shocked that she of all people had been so thoroughly fooled. She never would believe it because her ego had been so…conditioned…that she couldn't believe it was possible to pull one over on her even if the truth stared her in the face. Dumbledore spelling her to believe him and what he said and not what her own eyes and intelligence told her (like why Harry was in the unhealthy, miserable condition he was in ever since his first year) had contributed much to this belief.

Harry spent the month learning, growing, finishing some of the healing he had started in the past year and talking with his "people" meaning, Goblins, accountants, lawyers, the heredity vassals which had been hidden from him and making arrangements to call in a few life debts.

Gaston Graham was a lawyer in both the Magical and Muggle Worlds who specialized in international law, trusts and estates. He found the loopholes of all loopholes which made the assembled "people" actually applaud him. Rugnatz, the King of the Goblin Nation and CEO of all Gringotts Banks were threatening to make him an honorary Goblin for finding such a stroke of genius which, after much careful investigation, proved to be uncontestable in ANY COURT OF LAW IN THE ENTIRE MAGICAL WORLD – even in the notoriously corrupt Magical Britain.

Despite Dumbledore's death he had made meticulous plans regarding the fate of Harry Potter which would continue throughout the boy's life (or at least what was left of it) and most of the Order of the Phoenix had been charged to follow all of his instructions to the letter not only regarding Potter but another very important thing which would have to be accomplished if the surviving Order members wanted to receive all of those perks and rewards they had been promised.

That was why when Harry had escaped Kingsley Shacklebolt and most especially the Weasleys had been so desperate to find him and start "collecting" their due. Dumbledore had had "arrangements" with certain Goblins at Gringotts which had prevented Harry from finding out about his many vaults and Griphook's greed and betrayal had also been part of Dumbledore's plan to prevent Harry from acquiring most of his money and finding out about his inheritances.

It was only going to be Harry who would be making restitution to Gringotts for stealing from them and he would be banned from the bank and it would only be through Kingsley's and Bill's intervention that Harry would not be turned over to Goblin justice and he would be banned from the bank for twenty years. Once he married Ginny, as his wife she would be eligible to make withdrawals from the other vaults Harry didn't know he had and then the money would be in the hands of those who not only deserved it for services rendered but who knew how to use it much better than Harry ever would.

However, there really is no honor among thieves and Dumbledore, as usual, had promised far more than he could deliver. A letter was delivered to the "senior surviving member of the Order" containing Dumbledore's last instructions. Imagine the shock of those who went to his tomb to fulfill his commands to find that it had been totally destroyed by a containment fiendfyre. Bill had admired the work of whoever had cast the spell otherwise the entire grounds and even the school could have been at risk. Never in a million years would anybody believe that Harry could have done such a wonderful feat of magic so he was "safe from prosecution" by the Ministry.

Rugnatz started the "fun" by summoning Ragnok, President of Gringotts Britain, to the main branch in Geneva. The facts were presented to Ragnok and he had to explain all of the discrepancies in regard to Harry Potter done in the last 18 years. He had been totally unaware of many of them but that was no excuse. He was ordered to go back to Britain and "make amends" by finding all of those responsible for all instances of corruption in the last 50 years starting with the Potter account. Thirty Goblins from other Gringotts branches would be going back with him and beginning the biggest audit in the history of the Goblin Nation. Ragnok would be charged with overseeing the executions of those found guilty before he was allowed to take the honorable way out by committing public suicide. The fate of his immediate family would depending on the depth of the crimes.

All assets of Gringotts Britain were frozen and all vaults were temporarily closed especially those of certain persons of interest.

Harry had filed a lawsuit at the ICW because there were many wrongs done to him and he would never, ever get any justice in Britain. The moment he had done so Kingsley demanded that Harry Potter be returned to Britain for "questioning and debriefing" and that the "frivolous lawsuit" be immediately dismissed. The reason for this was that Harry Potter had been kidnapped immediately after the battle by persons unknown but who were either determined to do him harm because he had defeated Voldemort or they sought to use and abuse him for their own nefarious reasons.

The ICW refused and threatened Britain with sanctions if they tried to "save Harry Potter" from whatever it was they were inventing. Harry had evidence and documentation out the wazoo and there was no way certain people were ever going to have access to Harry Potter's person again. The British Ministry responded by doing what they always did – they ignored it and sent out their Aurors and/or "volunteers" to "rescue Harry" thus violating several international laws and treaties.

When the illegal means failed, they tried doing "legal" things such as producing fake Wills of James Potter, Sirius Black and the real one of Albus Dumbledore who, even in death, was bound and determined to control the boy – for his own good as well as the Greater Good – and as his magical guardian had made arrangements for others to care for the boy who was legally an adult in both the Magical and Muggle Worlds. The last was so totally illegal and just plain wrong on so many levels that Britain was sanctioned.

Anyone, including the mercenaries hired by the Ministry to "rescue Harry Potter" who came near the boy – no the ADULT Lord of several Houses – would be persecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Harry had been forced to acquire a few mercenaries of his own and they had orders and the authorization of the ICW to kill if it was necessary to protect Harry Potter. It was and they did and Harry didn't care.

Because it was necessary to explain his side of his story, Harry had to give depositions detailing everything which he knew of that had been done to him by certain persons, mostly by Dumbledore and his minions. Originally it was for the court case but after Ron Weasley's book came out telling the "real story" of the Golden Trio, Harry's years at Hogwarts, his life before Hogwarts, how Albus Dumbledore really saved them all from Voldemort and several other outrageous…and total fictitious accounts of those years… to save his reputation Harry just had the deposition transcripts modified into a memoir of his life. He also filed another separate lawsuit against Ron and the others who had contributed to the book for slander and false representation.

Harry started by publically swearing on his life and magic that everything in his memoirs was true to the best of his knowledge regarding Dumbledore's actions and from his personal experience starting with his time at the Dursleys and continuing to the final battle. He had to add an epilogue to the original to include Ron's book and all of the nasty, underhanded things the Ministry and others were now doing to him.

Harry had several witnesses to back him up, namely those who had also escaped after the final battle like Neville, Luna and a few others. He had tried to get the Dursleys not only to prosecute them for their treatment of him but to use them as witnesses to confirm what they did on Dumbledore's orders. However, the Dursleys had "mysteriously disappeared" after being released from the care of the Order, meaning they were again being hidden by the Ministry so that they couldn't testify, were being spelled to testify on behalf of the Ministry or have their memories "modified" to benefit Dumbledore's memory and save the hide of all of the Order members. The worst case scenario was that they were dead. Again Harry didn't care!

However, Harry's elves had been gathering evidence and names the past year and it was all copied and made exhibits for the trials. To be safe all evidence was decupled and hidden in various other countries just in case the main evidence was "lost" or destroyed. Harry had the originals in the extremely well-fortified castle he had inherited and it was further warded in parsel tongue to prevent it being found and stolen.

Harry had to have restraining orders issued against many people in a futile attempt to stop the howlers which the ICW had been inundated with since Harry couldn't be found. Molly Weasley was sending at least six howlers a day to Harry and various other "traitors" meaning those who were supporting Harry, as well as the ICW itself and several members of that organization, the Delacours in France (Bill's ex-in-laws since Fleur's parents gave her the ultimatum of leaving Bill or being disowned from her family and the Veela Nation) and anybody else she could think of.

At first the _Daily Prophet_ had continued to be a Ministry tool and lambasted Harry several times on a daily basis rallying public opinion against him (but then what else was new). However, that stopped just as soon as it was discovered that the stockholder whose combined holdings amounted to 45% of the paper had recently purchased another 27%. Guess who that was? Yep Harry, which was the only reason the _Prophe_ t was not going to be sued. Many of its formers employees like Rita Skeeter, her Editor and a few others had been fired and then slapped with lawsuits.

Then, not surprisingly, the Weasleys filed suits against Harry starting with the breach of marriage contract. Dumbledore had so very thoughtfully arranged a marriage contract between Harry and Ginny Weasley because the old wizard "had _sensed_ that they were soul mates, were totally perfect for each other and Harry couldn't do any better than marrying such a perfect example of young witchhood. Just in case Harry was being stubborn or "difficult" as usual, Dumbledore had put in another clause stating that if Harry didn't marry Ginny Weasley he would lose his magic. She wouldn't but he would.

Molly had stormed the Ministry and Gringotts waving a copy of the ironclad contract in their faces. However, since Dumbledore had never legally been Harry's magical guardian he had no right to make such a contract. Harry had documentation proving the illegalities and he had publically sworn on his magic that he would never, ever marry Ginny Weasley. He also very nicely called in the wizarding debt she owed him for saving her skanky ass from the basilisk and Voldemort.

A little thing like the Weasleys not having a legal leg to stand on wasn't stopping Molly or the Ministry as none of them would receive any of the perks and rewards Dumbledore promised them for their faithful service until the wedding took place or the "other mission had been accomplished" as per Dumbledore's instructions and since the destruction of his tomb, that was impossible.

Hermione had been duped into swearing that oath to "convince Harry" to do as he was supposed to and marry the little slut but she had been so unsuccessful and had made many enemies of people who were once if not friends at least good acquaintances like Neville and Luna. She had been petrified that she would lose her magic and thus the brilliant career in the Magical World she had been promised by Dumbledore. She had already "lost her parents" or rather had given them up and if she lost her magic… she would be alone and, as she was told on a daily basis by a Weasley or others…totally worthless and would have to kill herself."

When Harry had visited Andromeda, he knew it was a trap and had prepared for it, bringing his body guards with him, portkeys, wearing amulets and using recording runes to further document everything said and done at the Tonks house. He felt bad for Andromeda and would see that Teddy was returned to her if possible but now he would never be a godfather at least to Teddy as that honor had been usurped by his enemies. It did nothing but to hurt the boy both emotionally and definitely monetarily as the kid who he had never met yet (because there had been no time) wouldn't get a Knut from him.

Then those who had been named in the lawsuit had to be dragged to the ICW for the case to be heard. Britain was still under sanctions and Gringotts was still being audited so people were hurting. The _Prophet_ truthfully (because they now had to be) printed what was happening, why it was happening and who were the people responsible for their misery.

It took five months to drag most (but not all) of those named but it was done. Harry was using the time wisely by healing, learning and living a good life despite having to live it in semi-isolation in a fortress and with body guards patrolling at all hours. Neville, Luna and a few other secret allies he had made during his Hogwarts years like Susan Bones, Millicent Bulstrode, Su Li and Terry Boot had joined him and they were being tutored along with Harry. His tutors were carefully chosen and very nice so life was good for the first time in his living memory.

When the trial started Harry didn't have to be present unless necessary so he missed having to look at and receive death glares from "those people" and their few, but very violent, supporters. As Harry was leaving Andromeda's house he made arrangements for her and Hermione to be taken into custody and placed in the ICW's witness protection program. It had saved them from their persecutors but both Andromeda and Hermione had been placed on a suicide watch.

Both witches had been de-spelled and had some potions flushed out of their systems but some things could not be removed from them, such as the oaths, unless the person who made them take the oaths removed them. Therefore Hermione was really, really screwed. Since Dumbledore had made her swear some oaths like to "convince Harry" the only way she could work around the oath and still retain her magic was if she never saw or talked to Harry ever again.

And that was what eventually happened after all of the trials were done. Hermione would always try to fulfill her mission so to save her magic and her very life, she was obliviated. Mercifully Harry had located her parents and their memories were restored and the family was reunited. The Grangers were pissed at their daughter for ruining them financially (which was what had happened because she sold short their practice, house and possessions due to her personal schedule) but after finally learning the truth about Hermione's time at Hogwarts and being the loving people they were, they forgave her.

Hermione would only remember that she had gone to Hogwarts, had a terrible time, nearly been killed many times and had been very badly treated because she was a Muggleborn. During her fifth year she had been attacked by some redheaded people and she had been so badly injured that she had spent the last three years in a coma. Her parents had fled for their lives to Australia but since her Mother had been allergic to so many of the native flora, once Hermione woke up they once again left to start a new life in a new place.

Harry had been more than generous by subsidizing the Grangers who had lost not only their livelihoods but so much of their personal and family life. Harry had done a bit more as when Hermione's memories were being modified he had her spelled to not act like a total know-it-all or to be so bossy. She had been given a complete makeover starting with a new, short, stylist cut and given tips on makeup and how to tastefully dress. Unless something unexpected happened, Hermione was being granted a new lease on life and a much better one than she had before.

After months of aggravation, the trials finally ended. Simply put, Harry won and finally got justice for once in his life. All surviving members of the Order of the Phoenix got what they truly deserved and not what Dumbledore had promised them. Kingsley was kicked out of the Ministry and a new administration was elected under the watchful eye of the ICW.

It had been Harry who had come up with a fantastic idea. Anyone who worked at the Ministry in a position of any power first had to swear an oath on their life and magic never to take bribes and to work for the good of the country and not for their own personal gain. The higher up you went the more severe the oath you had to take. It was a true stroke of genius and people wondered why no one ever thought of it before. But they found out why.

The reason why was…people were people. The more power you received the more you wanted and the more you were tempted to take advantage of the people's trust and your office. In Magical Britain at least there weren't that many honest people. Most politicians aren't and even if they start out that way to survive or get things done that they wanted to do some compromises had to be made and usually not for the better.

But Britain was such a hotbed of corruption and…just plain evil…that an example had to be made. It was called the great experiment and for now (and probably forever) it would be limited to Britain only as that was the only way it got passed into international law. It would never extend to any of the other countries who were members of the ICW because…well there wouldn't be enough people left to enter into politics.

All the Weasleys were totally ruined except Charlie who had gone back to his beloved dragons and was staying with them.

The rest of the Weasleys went to Azkaban. Since other than a Ministry holding cell (which were temporary) Azkaban was the only prison in Magical Britain. Because of this there were various levels. None were particularly pleasant but petty criminals like Mundungus Fletcher served his time in Level 1, which had poor but adequate living conditions and the Dementors only visited once or twice a week. The longest sentence was 12-18 months, you were allowed to receive mail once a month after it was checked over as well as a monthly visitor and you were given a scourified every week. You had a self-cleaning chamber pot and a slit in the wall for a window as well as two blankets, sheets (changed monthly) and a pillow. Two meals a day and a pitcher of fresh water completed your punishment.

George Weasley was sent here for six months because he had participated in the merciless hunt for Harry Potter. It gave him time to recover from Fred's death or at least to recover enough to leave Britain forever when he was released. He went to live with Charlie, found a job and even managed to marry and sire two children. He rarely laughed but not because of Harry but because he had lost Fred.

Level 2 your conditions worsen with no visitors allowed, a cleaning done every two weeks and Dementor visits every other day but only for no longer than five minutes. The rest was the same as Level 1. The maximum sentence here was five years unless you tried to escape or did something really bad. Arthur Weasley and some Order members were sent here as was Bill, Percy and Ginny Weasley, but in this case their sentences were for seven years.

Only Percy survived due to pure determination and his desire for revenge. He'd never get it but at least it had kept him alive. Charlie took him to Romania to live with him and George's family. It took Percy a year to recover from Azkaban and eventually he got a Ministry job but never prospered as well as he could have had he not joined his family in the hunt for Harry. He married, fathered two daughters and died at the age of 52.

Level 3 was where Sirius Black and the first wave of Death Eaters like Bellatrix Lestrange dwelled. Conditions were hell on earth. This was where Molly and Ron Weasley went as well as Kingsley Shacklebolt and certain other Order members who had not been spelled or obliviated by Dumbledore over the years. They were the ones who already had or would have done the most harm to Harry if he was captured. They were not there for life but did receive at least 5-10 years depending on what they had done regarding Harry. The question was whether they would survive the conditions or the Dementors.

Molly survived for four years before succumbing to the general conditions. She went completely insane during her second year especially after her baby Ronniekins committed suicide by banging his head on the wall. He had spent his time cursing Harry Potter for not doing what he was supposed to do thus causing Ron not to have the fame, glory, money and scads of witches he felt he had earned by being Potter's "best mate" and most especially being a Pureblood and Dumbledore supporter.

He just couldn't cope with the lack of food and the other things which made his life worth living, such as Quidditch and his dreams of power, glory and wealth. Since he still dreamed those sweet dreams he became a favorite victim of the Dementors which hastened his end.

Lucius Malfoy and the other captured Death Eaters were here and would never leave except for burial as there was no Dumbledore to make "deals" or persons. Due to Narcissa Malfoy "saving Harry" and not having actually killed anyone (not for lack of trying) Draco was sent here but only for a six month sentence. He would then be on probation for the rest of his life. The House of Malfoy had been heavily fined not only for being Death Eaters but for certain other things Lucius had been guilty of doing. He married and sired two heirs but his wife, Astoria, left him after five years of marriage. At least he had custody of the children and his Mother to take care of him and raise the children.

And what of Harry Potter?

It was said that due to his experience with Magical Britain and being forced to marry Ginny Weasley and barely escaping that terrible fate (as he would also have had Molly Weasley for a mother-in-law and some people thought that death would have been preferable), he was declared by _Witch Weekly_ and _Teen Witch Weekly_ a "confirmed bachelor" and likely to remain so.

Many rumors flew about regarding his sexual preferences and the damage done to him as a child and young adult. It was mourned that the Potter line would soon be extinct because of Harry's fear of marrying and his dislike of women, etc. As usual they were all wrong.

After things died down, and "it was all over" meaning the trials and sentencing, Harry finally regained his health back. Due to the illegal magic cast on him, the constant abuse and lack of care, he would never meet his full health and magical potential, but he did recover. His eyesight was saved just in time as it had been deteriorating badly due to spells and not something he inherited from James Potter. Glamours had been cast on him and once removed, he had normal hair and eventually laser surgery to correct his eyes. He had to wear glasses again when he hit middle age but he wore very flattering frames and looked good.

He did marry. He married Susan Bones as they had a lot in common and she had been one of those who had been tutored with him. They had three boys and two girls and each inherited the Lord/Ladyship of the four Houses Harry was heir to as well as the Bones inheritance. They did not return to Britain to live and needless to say did not send their children to Hogwarts as they and so many others had bad memories of the school.

Also it took years for the school to be rebuilt. Physically the Castle had been rebuilt in less than a year but Albus Dumbledore had done much damage to the school and its curriculum and it took a lot of time to get it back to its "pre-Dumbledore glory" and then laws had to be passed in Britain allowing Hogwarts to grow and adapt to the changes in the Muggle World such as TV, computers, etc. Other countries, especially the U.S., Canada, Australia and certain Asian countries like Japan, had adapted Muggle technology and incorporated it with Magic for the better.

Unlike the known goals or "dreams" of Albus Dumbledore, the two worlds could never co-exist in peace and for their own protection Magical beings could not let the Muggles know of Magic's existence as it would destroy both worlds. But Dumbledore had been conceited enough to believe that under his "benevolent and wise" leadership, he could convince the Muggle World of the good Magic could do for them and just as long as they also followed Dumbledore's "Path of the Light" not only would the Muggle and Magical Worlds live in peace with each other, but there would finally be WORLD-WIDE PEACE – as long as Albus Dumbledore was the "Headmaster of the Worlds" as he would call himself.

Once their magic was discovered, in some countries in the Magical World, Muggleborns were either taken from their families and raised in a magical foster home or adopted and their family was obliviated. This was usually done in countries where having magic was an immediate death sentence or the government was unethical and would trap and use the child for their own evil designs.

In other "civilized" countries like the U.S.A., Canada, Australia and several European countries, the families of Muggleborns were immediately contacted once the magic was discovered and if the family approved and supported their magical child(ren), they were specially spelled to never, ever reveal the existence of magic and foolproof alternate plans were made to keep the Magical World's existence a secret. Some families did not approve of the child(ren) having magic and would refuse to allow their child(ren) to be trained in the art or would harm them through "deprogramming" or sending them to a psychiatric hospital or even killing them. In such circumstances the child(ren) would be immediately removed and the family "convinced" that the child had died.

For the last few centuries, Britain had been the only country that hadn't adopted such sensible and humanitarian practices. When Dumbledore came into full power due to defeating Grindelwald and being made Headmaster of Hogwarts he started "changing Magical Britain for the Greater Good" by what some people called the Mugglifying of Magic by slowly but surely making Britain adapt their ancient practices and rites to conform to his goal of making Magical Britain more "attractive" to Muggleborns by making them "feel more at home" and not "scaring them away from Magic" due to these  
"pagan practices" and other such excuses.

He really did this so that he could damage the Magical World by depriving it of a religion and/or the rites and special family Magic that had strengthen Magicals and been practiced from the beginning of the start of Magical civilization.

Secretly he was "dumbing down" Magic by declaring that anything "Dark" had to be outlawed because not only was it wicked, it destroyed a person's soul and was the main cause of Dark Lords. Only by following Dumbledore's path of the Light could people be saved, live in harmony and that no future Dark Lords would ever come into power.

Actually he was creating his legacy as being the last of the truly great wizards. You had to be powerful to do magic he was calling dark as well as learning as much magic as you were capable of doing. The talented and powerful Tom Riddle had been the last person who came closest to dethroning his record at Hogwarts and the boy had done a lot of personal study. Dumbledore had recognized the boy's power and potential and since he was an orphan AND the last of the Slytherin heirs, he did everything in his power to destroy the boy and the man.

He subtly ruined his chances for a career as well as always declaring the lad as hopelessly "DARK and EVIL" and since it was the now heroic Albus Dumbledore saying it, it became true and accepted. He then saw his chance at creating and then once again defeating another Dark Wizard so that his legend would grow. In other words he actually "created Lord Voldemort" and Dumbledore created his own Horcruxes so that he could live forever and have his legacy.

But pride is the greatest of sins and despite his talents, manipulations, valuable tomes and artifacts he collected to accomplish his goals, it had been another one of his "creations" namely Harry Potter who had secretly destroyed him and those fool enough to follow him seeking power and wealth.

It was just another case of the "real good" conquering the "real" and hidden evil.

FINIS


End file.
